The NASCAR Xfinity Series will become the second NASCAR national series to compete at Portland International Raceway with the Pacific Office Automation 147 on Saturday, June 4 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio and the first time the series has competed in the state of Oregon.
Looking back, NASCAR’s first national series competition in the state of Oregon was actually at Portland Speedway, a half-mile paved oval, on May 27, 1956. It was a NASCAR Cup Series race, and the event was won by Herb Thomas driving a Chrysler for car owner Carl Kiekhaefer. In total, the NASCAR Cup Series made seven starts at Portland Speedway between two season 1956-1957 producing six different winners.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was the first national series for NASCAR to compete at Portland International Raceway and did so from 1999-2000. The Camping World Truck Series also visited Portland Speedway from 1995-1998.
| Track Name | City | Cup | Xfinity | Truck | Combined | First Year |
| Portland International Raceway | Portland | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1999 |
| Portland Speedway | Portland | 7 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 1956 |
| Totals | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
Same great side-by-side Xfinity Series racing, new pit stop procedure
For the first time this season, the competition will look a little different in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway as officials have decided to implement a new pit road procedure special to the road course track this weekend.
Here’s a breakdown of what to expect this Saturday:
GENERAL PROCEDURE RULES
- The field will be frozen at the time of caution
- All caution periods will be Quickie Yellows (when Pit Road has opened, ALL cars may pit)
- Fuel may only be added during the stage breaks
- Tires may be changed at any time during the event
STAGE BREAK PIT STOPS
- Stage breaks will consist of a THREE-minute break
- NASCAR Officials will announce the start of the THREE-minute break after the last vehicle has stopped in their pit stall
- No crew members on pit road until all cars are stopped and NASCAR has announced the start of the break
- Fuel may not be added and tires may not be changed at the same time
- Tires must be changed first, then fuel may be added
- The lap in which pit road is open during the stage breaks will not count
- Teams that elect not to pit will stop behind the caution vehicle until the conclusion of the break
GREEN FLAG PIT STOPS
- Green flag pit stops, where tires are changed, must not be completed faster than the minimum time allotted from yellow line to yellow line: 60 seconds minimum
- In the event of flat tire(s) under green flag: If the tire(s) are visually flat when the vehicle enters pit road, the team may elect to change the flat tire(s) only and not be subject to the minimum time on pit road
RESTART LINE-UP (During stage breaks and all caution periods)
- Lead lap Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
- Lead lap Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
- Lap(s) down Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
- Lap(s) down Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
- Free Pass, Wave Around, and Penalty Cars (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
PIT STOP PENALTIES
- Restart Tail End:
- Servicing the vehicle before the THREE-minute break has started
- Servicing the vehicle after the THREE-minute break has ended
- Vehicles not in the correct restart position when the one to go is given at Turn 8
- Pass-Through:
- Not meeting the green flag minimum time limit on pit road
PIT CREW / PIT EQUIPMENT
- The Pit Crew Members will consist of:
- Road crew roster positions
- Five (5) Crew Members to service and fuel the vehicle (excluding the stage breaks)
- One (1) Driver Assist Crew Member to clean the windshield and assist the driver
- All pit crew safety equipment is required during any pit stops (excluding the stage breaks)
- Any compressed air-driven pneumatic pit gun or battery-operated electric pit gun may be used.
Who will be the first driver in Portland International Raceway’s Victory Lane?
This may be the first time the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will give the Portland International Raceway road course a go, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t speculate on who could win the inaugural race.
Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger would be a good bet considering he holds the Xfinity Series record for most road course wins (seven) and won the most recent road course race (COTA) in March. To top it off, he’s been on his A-game all season long, posting one win, six top fives and 12 top 10s thus far.
Another driver to keep an eye on is 19-year-old Ty Gibbs. Although he only has 31 career Xfinity Series starts, he already has seven wins and two of those wins are on road courses (2021- Daytona, Watkins Glen). In the other road courses last season where he didn’t make the trip to Victory Lane, he still managed to impress with a third-place finish at Mid-Ohio and won the pole at Road America. He once again won a road course pole this season at COTA and seems to be hungry for another win.
Gibbs has been on a hot start in 2022, with three wins and four poles already under his belt. After working his way up from the 36th position last weekend in Charlotte to finish runner-up behind Josh Berry, he has proven he is able to move the field no matter the starting position.
